POWELL, Tenn. — The need for allergen-free sweet treats is leading to one bakery's expansion across East Tennessee.
When we first met Sarah Blackburn in October 2018, she was a home baker renting commercial kitchen space to make baked goods.
But we're not talking your average, run-of-the-mill cupcakes.
"These are gluten-, dairy-, soy-, egg-, nut- and corn-free," she told us then.
Everything Blackburn makes is safe for people even with the most debilitating food allergies, and it turns out that's a service a lot of people need.
Fast forward two years to the fall of 2020 and Blackburn's business Free Reign Bakery is already outgrowing its Powell storefront.
"We have a lot of loyal customers and a lot of people who come in who honestly travel quite a ways to come and visit us," she said.
As the only full allergen-free bakery in the area, Blackburn ships her sweets all over the country to people who are thankful for this option.
"Some people who this is the first time they've been in a bakery their whole life, or the first time they've been able to have a birthday cake," she said. "We have a lot of people who are just in tears because they can choose from any of the options that we have on display which they've never been able to do that before."
Blackburn now has about 30 different recipes she rotates through, from cupcakes to brownies, glazed donuts to homemade Pop-Tarts.
Soon, that will include a food menu.
"Soups, salads, sandwiches, we'll have a plant-based, gluten-free macaroni and cheese, which is really hard to come by," she said.
Blackburn has spent no money on marketing. Her big business boom comes from word of mouth and social media.
That's proved enough to fuel two more bakeries.
New locations in Bearden and Alcoa will open in March 2021.
"Allergen-free baked goods and drinks and smoothies and food items should be available everywhere and it should be easily accessible to a lot of people so we're just trying to make that happen," said Blackburn.
She said allergen-friendly options give people more than just a sweet treat, but a sense of belonging that some lack.
"Everybody wants to feel like they don't have anything holding them back in life and that they can share in those great moments and just be a part of what everybody else is partaking in," said Blackburn.
She knows what it's like to have food allergies hold her back, but isn't letting them win anymore.
"The need that I thought was there is just much larger than I even expected and I honestly feel humbled by that, that we're able to provide that for the community," she said. "That's the whole reason why we're doing it."
Free Reign Bakery is currently located at 3531 West Emory Road in Powell.